Provision in the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill is set to adversely impact non-ecommerce Internet and mobile platforms, the Internet and Mobile Association of India has said. Issues raised by the IAMAI: 1. Ambiguity over terms which apply to aggregators: According to IAMAI, the Bill defines ‘aggregators’ and ‘electronic commerce operators’ (or ‘operators’) as two separate categories, with tax liabilities defined for the ‘operators’, possibly leading towards uncertainty about whether the ‘aggregators’ too are subject to the same liabilities. 2. Only listing of sellers are aggregators? The definition of ‘aggregator’ suggests it applies only for services and that too only for ‘listing’ of sellers. However, under this definition, online classifieds like Naukri will not qualify as ‘aggregator’ as these businesses do not list ‘persons providing service ‘X’ under the brand name or trade name of the said aggregator’. For example the jobs listed on Naukri are actually offered by other companies in their name. 3. Only applicable to listing of services: Online classifieds such as Olx and Quikr provide listing services for ‘goods’. However, the GST definition fails to recognize such listing service providers as it only defines ‘Aggregators’ for services. 4. Some entities don't just list services: Online travel agencies like MakeMyTrip and Yatra "do not list ‘persons providing service of a particular kind under the brand name or trade name of the said aggregator.’" They facilitate payments and supply of services, which could mean that they're treated as operators and not aggregators. In the same way, Ola and…
